Indicted for conspiracy to distribute cocaine or methamphetamine, or both, included the accused ringleader of the organization, Bertario Santos-Rojas,
Indicted for conspiracy to distribute cocaine or methamphetamine, or both, included the accused ringleader of the organization, Bertario Santos-Rojas, 36, of Auburn, and three cousins, all of them brothers: Ignacio Pena-Garcia, 32, Jose Vidal-Barraza, 21, and Antonio Rojas-Perez, who is being held by immigration.Others arrested include: Maria Baez, 30, Jesus Yordani Moreno Zuarez, 20, Nestor Cruz-Santiago, 22, Baltazar Davila Cervantes, 24, Christian Ruelas-Ortiz, 22, Martin Miguel Velasco, 30, Daniel Roberto Lopez-Lopez, 24, Simon Ruiz Garcia, 37, Maura Meza, 24 and Georgina Fernandez, 22.Also arrested and indicted was Daryl Shears, 43, of Renton, accused of being one of Rojas' best customers, allegedly buying as many as 15 kilos of cocaine a month.Felicia Bowen, 36, an Eastside real estate agent, also was among those arrested. Bowen, who had served time in prison, was featured last year in a local publication for her reputed success in going straight.
At one point during the investigation, agents stopped a vehicle leaving Bowen's Renton home, finding a duffel bag holding 15 bricks of suspected cocaine, each block 8 inches long and just as thick. In the passenger seat was Bowen's teenage son and behind the wheel was the boy's friend. Neither of the juveniles was indicted in the federal case.The yearlong investigation was set off by what was initially a routine event -- the arrest in January 2007 of a petty drug dealer in downtown Seattle, police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said.That dealer provided valuable information, Kerlikowske said.U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan said a series of phone taps authorized by the Federal Wiretap Act were key to making the arrests. Agents were able to listen to hours of conversation between the defendants as they allegedly arranged drug sales and purchases.
"We were getting it from the horse's mouth," Moorin said.
Even so, agents had to interpret the conversations, peppered with code words for cocaine such as "girls," "white cars," "paint" and sometimes "snow."
Authorities allege that customers in the Seattle region would place their orders with some of the defendants, who made arrangements with contacts in Mexico to have the drugs smuggled into the United States, typically hiding the material in vehicles.
One vehicle, a Cadillac Escalade, was stopped by Oregon State Police in November 2007 and seized when a drug-sniffing dog found evidence of narcotics. A search later revealed 31 kilos of cocaine and $11,000 in cash hidden in the vehicle's speakers.
Rojas was a passenger in the vehicle, but not arrested at the time while the investigation continued.On Sept. 10, authorities allegedly learned through surveillance and phone taps that some of the defendants were arranging to deliver 15 kilos of cocaine to Shears at Bowen's home. Investigators moved in to make the arrests.But Rojas was not the peak. Federal agents said the Auburn man was very likely working for one of the Mexican drug cartels in Sinaloa, Mexico.
"You don't do this on your own," Moorin said.In addition to the arrests, investigators seized 50 kilos of cocaine, 30 pounds of methamphetamine, nearly $1 million in cash, 23 vehicles and a boat.
At one point during the investigation, agents stopped a vehicle leaving Bowen's Renton home, finding a duffel bag holding 15 bricks of suspected cocaine, each block 8 inches long and just as thick. In the passenger seat was Bowen's teenage son and behind the wheel was the boy's friend. Neither of the juveniles was indicted in the federal case.The yearlong investigation was set off by what was initially a routine event -- the arrest in January 2007 of a petty drug dealer in downtown Seattle, police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said.That dealer provided valuable information, Kerlikowske said.U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan said a series of phone taps authorized by the Federal Wiretap Act were key to making the arrests. Agents were able to listen to hours of conversation between the defendants as they allegedly arranged drug sales and purchases.
"We were getting it from the horse's mouth," Moorin said.
Even so, agents had to interpret the conversations, peppered with code words for cocaine such as "girls," "white cars," "paint" and sometimes "snow."
Authorities allege that customers in the Seattle region would place their orders with some of the defendants, who made arrangements with contacts in Mexico to have the drugs smuggled into the United States, typically hiding the material in vehicles.
One vehicle, a Cadillac Escalade, was stopped by Oregon State Police in November 2007 and seized when a drug-sniffing dog found evidence of narcotics. A search later revealed 31 kilos of cocaine and $11,000 in cash hidden in the vehicle's speakers.
Rojas was a passenger in the vehicle, but not arrested at the time while the investigation continued.On Sept. 10, authorities allegedly learned through surveillance and phone taps that some of the defendants were arranging to deliver 15 kilos of cocaine to Shears at Bowen's home. Investigators moved in to make the arrests.But Rojas was not the peak. Federal agents said the Auburn man was very likely working for one of the Mexican drug cartels in Sinaloa, Mexico.
"You don't do this on your own," Moorin said.In addition to the arrests, investigators seized 50 kilos of cocaine, 30 pounds of methamphetamine, nearly $1 million in cash, 23 vehicles and a boat.
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